Chapter 5
— chapter five
Three hours had passed since Nelson closed the door to his office with a firm click. Since she was his assistant and he was doing the majority of his calls on the office phone, Fanny knew that he’d been busy. The office phone on her desk had been lit an awful lot.
But still, three hours was a long time for Nelson to be in there without a break.
He liked to pace, go get a drink, look for snacks.
Ever since Jimmy Graber’s accident, he liked to take walks through the large metal garage where a lot of their ready-made pieces were created.
Just to make sure everything was going well.
Fanny wondered if he was avoiding her.
“Of course he’s avoiding you, girl,” she muttered to herself.
“You just had to give him your opinion about his love life. Loud and clear.” Remembering just how many times Nelson had flat-out said that he did not want to talk about the day of Jimmy’s accident, she felt even worse.
Because not only had she brought it up, she’d also brought up the fact that most of their employees believed Jimmy had been mostly responsible for it.
Why had she done that? No matter what was right or wrong, it wouldn’t change the past. Hadn’t her cousin Heidi told her that more than once?
Heidi was her cousin on her mother’s side, and they’d been close since birth. Fanny liked to think of herself as rather bold, but her boldness couldn’t hold a candle to Heidi’s assertiveness.
Even though her mom had told her that Heidi needed to learn to curb her tongue, Fanny trusted Heidi’s opinion.
But Heidi wasn’t here, and Fanny had already upset Nelson.
“Argh!”
The front door opened when she was mid-growl.
And of course, it had to be a guy who looked like he’d stepped out of one of her favorite Western movies. He wore gorgeous cowboy boots, jeans that fit him just right, a hand-tooled belt, and a pale-blue T-shirt. A tattoo in an intricate black design ran down his right arm.
To top it all off, he had to have black hair and blue eyes too.
Because he was perfect.
He was also currently staring at her with a look that was both confused and amused. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she replied. Just as if she wasn’t paid to be professional and dignified.
“Are you okay? Sorry if I was interrupting something.”
“Huh?” Oh yeah. He’d heard her making a stupid noise. And wasn’t that just great? Well, there were two choices. Either acknowledge that she often talked to herself or at least try to appear like she had a clue.
“You weren’t. I was just, um, irritated about an email,” she said. “How may I help you?”
“My name’s Hank Arias.” He glanced at the digital clock on her desk. “I have a meeting scheduled with Nelson Harper in five minutes.”
This meeting wasn’t on the schedule. Though she was a little miffed that Nelson had set it up but not added it to the digital calendar she monitored, she pushed her feelings aside.
“Please have a seat, Mr. Arias. I’ll let him know you’re here.
” She smiled as she stood up and attempted to cross the room in a graceful way.
She didn’t usually do things like this. Nelson might run a tight ship, but he didn’t stand on formalities. Half the time she simply called out to her cousin that he had a visitor. Or trotted over and opened his door.
Other times it was easiest to text him on his cell since he was almost always on the business line anyway.
But right at this moment, she decided that she needed a few seconds to gather herself together. Maybe even a few more than a few. After a quick rap of her knuckles, she cracked open the door when Nelson told her to enter.
“Yeah, Fan?”
Aware that Nelson’s guest was probably watching her, she said, “Mr. Arias is here, Nelson,” just like the king of England had entered the office.
Only then did she realize that Nelson was on the phone.
“One sec,” he told whoever was on the line before covering the receiver and looking her way. “This call is going to last another ten minutes. Ask him to wait, would you?”
“Um, all right.”
Nelson waved a hand. “Or . . . maybe he’d like a tour?”
A tour? “Sure,” she said, though Nelson didn’t hear her. He was already staring at the computer screen and clicking his mouse.
Closing the door again, she turned to face Mr. Hank Arias. “I’m sorry, it’s going to be a minute.” Realizing her mistake, she added, “Probably more like ten.”
“I heard.” He stood up. “So, how about that tour?”
The look he sent her way was close to a smirk. Like he was daring her to refuse. She was a lot of things, but cowardly wasn’t one of them. “Of course.”
After glancing at the old-school planner on her desk to make sure that nothing was expected anytime soon, she picked up her cell phone, stuck it in the back pocket of her jeans, and turned back to him. “Would you like a bottle of water or a cup of coffee to sip while we walk?”
“Water would be good.”
“Great. We’ll start in the break room. There are extra bottles of water in there. After that, we’ll take a walk through the various sections of the mill and showroom.”
“Sounds good.”
“It’s right this way.” When they exited the glass doors that separated her desk, Nelson’s office, a pair of restrooms, and two private meeting areas from the mill, the warmer temperatures surrounded them.
Turning right, they passed a long wall showcasing a chronological history of Alliance Millworks.
Mr. Arias hardly gave it a second glance.
Instead, he seemed to be completely focused on her. “Are you ever going to tell me your name?”
“It’s Fan—I mean, Frances.”
“Which do you prefer?”
“Prefer?”
“Fan or Frances?”
“Oh, sorry. I meant to say Fanny, not Fan. It’s a childhood nickname that stuck. And as you might imagine, I prefer Frances.”
“Who calls you Fanny?”
“Pretty much everyone. I’ve stopped fighting them.” Sometimes.
“Funny how that happens, isn’t it? My mama said that the only one who ever called me Henry was the nurse at the hospital. She’d always liked Hank better. It stuck to me like glue.” He sent her a meaningful glance.
“There’s the difference, though.”
“What might that be?”
“Hank’s a good name and suits you. Fanny, on the other hand, is pretty awful.”
He tilted his head to one side. “You sure about that?”
Man, even his gravelly voice was attractive. “Very sure.”
The corner of his lips lifted. “I guess we’ll agree to disagree, then.”
Was he flirting with her? She turned to gape at him as they entered the break room. About half the people inside were Amish, the other half were Mennonite or English. Only a couple of guys near the door acknowledged her. “Hiya, Fanny.”
Beside her, Hank grinned.
She pretended she had no idea what he found so amusing. “Hey, guys. This here is one of our customers. Mr. Hank Arias. He wanted to take a peek around, so I’m giving him a tour.”
Two of the men exchanged nods with Hank before they returned to their conversations.
“The water is over here.” She led him to a commercial-sized refrigerator in the back, opened one of the doors, and took out one of the dozen or so bottles she’d neatly lined up two weeks ago. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” He unscrewed the top and drank almost half in one gulp.
She hated that she’d just stared at the muscles in his neck as he swallowed. Almost as much as she hated that she couldn’t seem to stop noticing every little thing about him. “Well, um, let’s continue on.”
She smiled at two younger guys who’d only started a few weeks before as she led the way out. “So far, so good?”
“Jah,” one of them said. “Danke, Fan.”
“No problem,” she said as they walked back down the hall. For the first time in a while, she was glad she was tall and had long legs. Hank didn’t dwarf her. But more importantly, she didn’t have to trot every couple of steps to keep up with him.
After she showed him the alcove where the bathrooms were and another room where all the office equipment was, they turned left. “The majority of our craftsmen are in this area.”
“All right.” When they entered the main work area, filled with noise and lots of workspaces that looked a bit like large, rustic cubicles, Hank said, “You seem to know this place real well.”
“I guess it’s because I do.”
“I’m surprised. You don’t look old enough to have worked here a long time, but I guess I’m mistaken?”
“Yeah. Nelson, the president, is my cousin. Our grandfather started the mill, and both of his sons—my dad and Nelson’s dad—ran the place after he retired. Nelson and I used to walk around here with our dads on the weekends. We worked here on summer breaks too.”
Hank was listening intently. “What did you do? Did you learn any woodworking?”
“No. That wasn’t my thing. I just did errands, office stuff. Mailers.” She paused. “One summer I worked with the janitor and cleaned bathrooms and mopped floors.”
“The daughter of the boss cleaned bathrooms?” Hank raised his eyebrows. “I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. Everyone here is taught to help out when it’s needed. That includes cleaning toilets.” Thinking back to that summer, she wrinkled her nose. “It wasn’t my favorite job, but it taught me to respect every job at Alliance Millworks. Every employee here does something important.”
“Hmm.”
A little embarrassed about her short speech, Fanny felt her cheeks heat. It would be nice if one day she didn’t sound quite so down-to-earth. Maybe a bit more classy. She didn’t think classy girls discussed toilets.
But who even knew?
Shaking her head, she pushed the wayward thoughts away.
“Anyway, when Nelson got promoted and took over the reins, one of his goals was to grow the business. He wanted to double it. When it became apparent that he needed help behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly, I volunteered to take the job.”
“That’s pretty impressive. I mean, a lot of people don’t want to work with family members. Something can always go wrong, and then the problem seeps over into the rest of the family.”
“I don’t disagree. But so far, we’re a pretty good team. Nelson is good at what he does, and I am too.”
“Good to know.”
“Yeah,” she muttered under her breath. Feeling a little awkward talking more about herself than the business, she gestured to Big John, a master carpenter who was currently making spindles for a staircase. “Hello, John,” she called out.
When he saw her, he took off his safety glasses. “Hiya, Fanny.”
“This is Mr. Arias. He’s meeting with Nelson in a little while, so I’m giving him a tour.”
John frowned. “Arias? You the guy with the big house out in Wooster?”
“That’s it.” Staring at John’s workstation, Hank grinned. “And if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure I’m looking at the spindles for the staircase.”
Big John chuckled. “Well, you’re looking at six of them. I’ve only got sixty or so more to go.”
Fanny couldn’t believe it. “Sixty?”
“Jah, Fan.” He waved a hand. “Or thereabouts.”
She turned to Hank. “That must be some kind of staircase.”
Hank chuckled. “I think so. There’s going to be these gorgeous hickory spindles, and then some iron ones too. Are you doing those as well, John?”
“Nope. Rudy over at ABC Ironworks is doing those. I saw one of them, though. It’s a real good match with mine. I think you’re gonna be pleased.”
“I’m sure I will.” Reaching out to one of the spindles, Hank paused. “May I?”
“Jah. Sure. They’re yours, ain’t so?”
“I don’t want to be a pest.”
“You aren’t. But remember that I haven’t sanded it yet. You’ll get something far smoother when they’re installed.”
“I understand.” With a look of true appreciation, Hank ran a hand along the woodwork that John had made. “This hickory looks fantastic.”
John nodded. “I said the same thing when they brought in the wood. It’s a good, solid piece right here. It’ll make a good stairway, I reckon. Strong too. No young’uns should be able to nick it easily.”
“I hope not. I wanted something that would last years from now, you know?”
Big John nodded. “I know. These will do the job. One day, your grandchildren will be telling their kinner to watch their step.”
“I hope so.” As he put it down, Hank reached out a hand and shook John’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same.”
“Do you do other work? I plan to ask Nelson about the progress in the library today.”
“I’m working some on that too. Peter is too, I think.” He scratched his head. “I could be wrong, but I don’t know if all the wood’s been delivered for your library yet.”
“I’ll ask Nelson.”
As they continued the tour, Hank took the time to chat with several of the skilled craftsmen.
It was obvious that he admired their work.
Fanny had always felt the same way, but it had been quite a long time since she’d taken the time to see their skills through fresh eyes.
She felt humbled that it took a stranger’s tour to do that.
Glancing at one of the large clocks hanging on the wall, she gestured toward the main exit. “I think we better head on back. Nelson is no doubt wondering where we are.”
“No doubt.” There was a hint of humor in his voice. Again. Was he teasing her?
She glanced back at him, hoping to get an answer from his expression, but he was studying the area with interest.
She felt a little silly. They were strangers and would likely not have the opportunity to spend much time together again. Why did she care what he thought of her? It didn’t make sense.
When they approached the glass doors leading into the small office space, Hank stepped forward and opened the door for her. “After you,” he murmured.
She walked through with whispered thanks. And had never been so happy to see Nelson standing outside his office.
“Nelson, as you suggested, I took Mr. Arias on a tour through the mill. We started talking to Big John.”
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Nelson said as he shook Hank’s hand. “I hope Frances was able to show you everything you were interested in.”
“Very much so.” Turning to her, Hank added, “Thank you again for your time.”
“Of course. It was my pleasure.”
Hank grinned.
Nelson cleared his throat. “Hank, I have some preliminary plans drawn for the game room and master suite on the second floor of the house. They’re on the conference table.” Nelson flashed a smile. “I have a feeling that you’ll be pleased.”
“Hope so.” Hank followed Nelson to the back, but as he walked by her desk, he winked.
It seemed a little bit cheeky. She was pretty sure she should even be a tad put off by that.
But she couldn’t help but replay it in her head again and again the rest of the day.